I am not sure why I had the pink in there nor why I was so on the fence about changing it to a teal. I was set enough to start purchasing the teal as I was making that inspiration board! Jeez girl.
**All of the pink went to Jane. Jules only ended up with the pink as she found this blanket, that I had stored for Jane, and claimed it for herself……cuz it is crazy soft. but not to worry – that teal blanket below is just as soft.
We kept all the art from her Montana room.
She is super jazzed that everything is up on the walls and that her fairy lights are up. The room is very small but it is the only one with a closet and that’s what was most important to her.
I updated Jules’ room before we left Montana and she was very sad to leave it behind. See Jules’ Room in the Montana House Tour. Now that we are getting settled into the Prairie Victorian I have been pulling together some images of what I would like to do for her room here.
The most striking item is the giant wall clock. It remains to be seen as to whether Jules would actually say yes to it – but it a super cool feature in this proposal. also that super cute furry bone bunny is just such an out of the ordinary piece…I had to add it in. Our family loves Halloween, its just a slight nod. I might also switch out the pink for a teal.
Sometimes I think to myself – my poor family, they have to put up with constant changes in the house, me always asking if they are ok with how their rooms look…secretly crossing my fingers that there is something that they want to change. And if they don’t want to change anything, me thinking up a reason to surprise them with something new. Does that make me a lunatic? Probably. I am surprised Dave hasn’t lost it, especially when he comes home from a work trip and opens a drawer in the kitchen to find hand towels instead of our silverware or has to search for the plates for the umpteenth time in our marriage.
Jules had an eventful birthday this year. Her piano recital was first thing on Saturday morning….no sleeping in for you sweetheart.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at home, prepping for the party. The kids had a blast – it was a very ‘crafty’ time. I kid you not….its like a glitter bomb went off in my house. I will be cleaning that up for months to come….hahahaha The projects were winter themed; button wreaths, foam picture frames and tiny little wooden shapes. The girls decorated their own cupcakes as well.
All in all a busy, messy and loud birthday. I would call that a success
Another one for the books. Over the course of the night we had 30 people wandering around. See this Post for my inspiration. Jane was incredibly happy with her friends and the evening as a whole. Here are some highlights:
Food prep – regular and mini cupcakes. Frosted and un-frosted cookies. Pizzas in the oven.
Harriet greeting the guests.
Luuucccccyyyyyyy!
Creating a photo corner for the the guests
Papa and Grandma the Witch
Bobbing for Apples
The kids looked like they had a blast. They did a Skull Toss for cookies, bobbed for apples and went ‘fishing’ for glow in the dark necklaces. My favorite was the apple bobbing. They got really into it and were very wet when I sent them home…..Sorry Parents!!
Hints on the Skull toss – the skulls below are all plastic and when we were setting up the games beforehand, it seemed like the bobbing for apples and fishing in the dark would not be enough….so out came a wide plastic Halloween Treat bowl. Perfect in a pinch and super easy. The kids really enjoyed it and played multiple times as the evening went on.
As I stated in my inspiration post – the best part about this is that it was super easy to adjust all of the Halloween decor and morph it into DIY Birthday/Halloween decor. A little pumpkin spray paint to blend the themes together and we are in business.
Have you ever taken a good look around at your life and wondered how you are still sane? That’s me right now. Dave has been getting his work travel on, which leaves me with the girls. The girls have decided to up their game in the bickering department, the dogs are at an all-time high in annoying-ness, the cat cannot decide whether she wants to be outside or inside and the chickens have decided that flying over our fence is a good idea. Out of all of that, the kid fighting is the worst.
Background: I have a sister but she graduated high school while I was still in elementary school. I have no memory of being a bickering kid with her. I do remember fun visits, letters, phone calls, being ecstatic when she came home and teary eyed when it was time for her to go. Given that this is my experience with siblings…I have a hard time with how my girls interact.
I wanted more than 1 child, we tried for years to have Jane. When she finally got around to making an appearance, Jules and Jane ended up almost 5 years apart. Jules was so easy as a child that the difficulties that Jane presented almost broke me. Jane scream cried every afternoon and would never take a nap. She hated being on her stomach, hated being on her back, hated being in a vibrating chair, hated being in a swing…..on and on. Getting her to sleep was an exercise in Mary Poppins Ninja moves. Sigh…Parent mind. I miss those days….Sigh. See? CRAZY! When she outgrew that stage, there was this wonderful lull in which she hadn’t started talking a whole lot. Then there was the game changer, Jane decided she had a voice and started using it. Much to Jules’ dismay The fights started almost overnight. Jane did not want to be Jules’ minion anymore and let us all know about it.
I know that they have fun and can play well together.
Proof
But man oh man, their noise level drives me out of my ever loving mind. Or maybe it’s the constant MOM, MOM, MOM??
The ultimate crazy comes from the fact that I hate to be parted from them. Example: My mom and I spoke and saw each other multiple times last week. I must have had that crazy eyed, visible nerves running along the skin parent look about me, as she volunteered to have the girls over for a sleepover. My instant response was, Are you sure? Mainly because I love waking up to them in the mornings. The girls had their sleepover with mom and enjoyed themselves immensely, while I dealt with misbehaving dogs and chickens. the chickens had to get their wings clipped – a necessary step to keep them safe. see this video for an example. Not the relaxing morning that I had hoped for, but what can you do? HA!
I love those girls so much that it hurts sometimes. They are so smart, cute, complicated, and challenging. But apparently, I am surprised by how annoyed I can get by the whole being a mom thing. I NEVER thought this would happen to me. Delusional? Hell yeah.
but…..then they do something ridiculously cute and I melt.
iPhone pic in the car….sorry….but you see what I am dealing with right??!!
Gorgeous Girl Jules turns 10 today. It’s been 10 years, but it feels like last year that I was pregnant with her. forgive the pre-digital picture below
Jules was a ridiculously easy baby. She slept all the time and rarely cried. She also had no hair until she was about 2……I am pretty sure she is making up for that now.
Look at those eyes.
Jules is a series of opposites that makes her one of a kind: caring/careless, shy/outgoing, sensitive/thick-skinned, serious/lighthearted………but she is always my Gorgeous (inside and out) Jules
First off – I hate the idea and practice of labeling your parenting style. It is a very popular trend and I feel like it divides rather than unifies parents. Being a parent is challenging enough…..we don’t need people silently or not so silently judging because we are in a different parenting style group. Now, don’t think I am a saint and haven’t had disdainful thoughts or words come out of my mouth about another person’s parenting choices, but you can be damn sure that I check myself. (A very good practice passed to me from a friend, K. But that is a different post) No one is perfect and it is about time that we support each other and our parenting choices.
This video that has been all over Social Media pretty much sums up what we do…..but ends with what we should be doing. If you notice that it was Similac that put out the video and feel inclined to make a comment about how the video is a subtle advertisement…..yes, I know that….but it does not make the message less valid. I read the comments on the original video posting and it made me realize that the majority of people posting needed to watch the video again.
Most parents feel judged, and not just judged about bottle feeding vs breastfeeding. Parents are made to feel that their choices are not good enough, from how often you get up with your kids, when you start potty training, when your kids start to walk and to bring it full circle -to Free Range Parenting vs. Helicopter Parenting. Stop it already.
